Disposable containers having an individualizing portion to encourage reuse and reduce waste

ABSTRACT

A disposable container having an image capable of being personalized by a user by scratching and/or depressing at least a portion of the image is provided. A disposable container including a bottom portion, a sidewall portion extending up from the bottom portion to define a cavity capable of holding a substance and an upper portion of the sidewall to define an opening through which the substance can be placed within and withdrawn from the cavity, wherein the sidewall portion has an inner and an outer surface, and an image disposed on the outer surface of the sidewall portion, wherein the image can be scratched and/or depressed along any portion of the image by a user thereby personalizing said container, which fosters reuse and eliminates waste.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates, generally, to disposable containers. Morespecifically, the present invention is directed to a disposablecontainer having an image capable of being personalized by a user byscratching and/or depressing at least a portion of the image.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Disposable containers, such as Styrofoam containers and dinnerware, area part of everyday life. For example, disposable containers are used forall types of occasions, e.g., barbeques, parties, etc. The disposablecontainers are popular because of their versatility, e.g., being able tohold hot and cold liquids or hot and cold food. In addition, since thedisposable containers are discarded into the trash after use, it makesclean-up after a party or a barbeque easy because there is no washing ofdinnerware or cups after the event.

Even though the disposable containers are great for barbeques andparties, these containers generate a lot of waste. Since thesecontainers are generally the same shape, size, and color, a personcannot distinguish one container from another container. And, the persontends to use multiple containers because there is no way to distinguishone container from another container. For example, if a person placestheir cup down on a table amongst other cups, one usually cannotdistinguish their cup from the other cups on the table. Thus, the personreaches for a new cup thereby leaving behind the other cup andgenerating more waste.

Therefore, a need exists for a person attending a party or barbeque tobe able to personalize a disposable container to distinguish theirdisposable containers from other containers so that one may be able touse the same container several times before discarding it into the trashand thereby reducing waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a disposable container having an imagecapable of being personalized by a user by scratching and/or depressinga portion of the image to foster reuse of disposable containers andreduce waste.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, adisposable container comprises a bottom portion, a sidewall portionextending up from the bottom portion defining a cavity capable ofholding a substance and an upper portion of the sidewall defining anopening through which the substance can be placed within and withdrawnfrom the cavity, wherein the sidewall portion has an inner and an outersurface, and an image is disposed on the outer surface of the sidewallportion, and wherein the image can be scratched and/or depressed alongany portion of the image by a user thereby personalizing said container.

In addition, the image of the disposable container may include an alphacharacter, a numerical character, artwork, or any combination thereof.And, the image may protrude from the outer surface of the sidewallportion, recessed into the outer surface of the sidewall portion, or anycombination thereof.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, amethod for making a cup having a portion of said cup capable of beingindividualized by a user of said cup, said method comprising the stepsof forming said cup including a base, a sidewall having an outer surfaceextending up from the base to define a liquid holding cavity and animage, wherein said image is disposed at a predetermined area on theouter surface of the sidewall of said cup, and wherein the image isformed such that any portion of said image can be scratched and/ordepressed by a user thereby personalizing said cup.

In addition, the image may include an alpha character, a numericalcharacter, artwork, or any combination thereof. And, the image mayprotrude from the outer surface of the sidewall, recess into the outersurface of the sidewall, or any combination thereof.

Further, the method may also include the step of forming a rim on theupper surface of the sidewall of said cup that defines an opening forfilling and withdrawing a liquid from the liquid holding cavity, and theouter surface of the sidewall is extended to include an outer surface ofthe rim.

Furthermore, the predetermined area of said cup formed by the methodabove may include the outer surface of the sidewall about the rim, anyportion of the outer surface of the sidewall between the base and therim, or any combination thereof.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, amold for making a Styrofoam cup which includes a base, a sidewallextending from the base to define a cavity for holding a liquid, and arim formed along the top portion of the sidewall that defines an openingfor filling and withdrawing a liquid from the cavity, and furthercomprises an image portion disposed on a predetermined area on an outersurface of the cup, wherein the image portion is formed such that theimage can be scratched and/or depressed by a user.

In addition, the predetermined area of the cup may include the outersurface of the rim, a portion of an area on the outer surface of the cupbetween the base and the rim, or any combination thereof.

Further, the image of the cup may include an alpha character, anumerical character, artwork, or any combination thereof. And, the imagecan be formed such that the image protrudes from the outer surface ofthe cup, recesses into the outer surface of the cup, or any combinationthereof.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention,a plate is formed having a rim, a food carrying surface, and an angularwall having an upper surface disposed between the rim and the foodcarrying surface. In addition, the angular wall is formed such that itaides in holding food on the food carrying surface. Further, the plateincludes an image section disposed on the upper surface of the angularwall, wherein the image depicted includes alpha-numeric characters. Itshould be further understood that the image can comprise alphacharacters, numerical characters, artwork, or any combination thereof.The image can also protrude from or recess into the angular wall 64 ofthe plate, or any combination thereof.

Further, a user of the disposable plate can depress or scratch-off, orany combination thereof, any portion of the image disposed thereon topersonalize the disposable plate. This allows the user of the plate toreuse the disposable plate because the user will be able to distinguishtheir plate from other plates by its distinguishing scratches and/ordepressions, thereby fostering reuse and eliminating waste.

These and other embodiments, features, aspects, and advantages of thepresent invention will be described and become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a disposable cup having an image, according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the image depicted in FIG. 1, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a disposable cup having an image, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the image depicted in FIG. 3, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a disposable cup having an image, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of disposable dinnerware having an image, accordingto another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied indifferent forms and should not be constructed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The present invention relates to a disposable container having an imagecapable of being personalized by a user of the disposable container todistinguish the user's container from similar containers therebyencouraging reuse and reducing waste.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a disposable cup having an image, according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, acup 10 is formed having a rim 12, a body 14, and a base 16. In addition,the cup includes an outer sidewall 18 extending from a bottom of thebase 16 to a top portion of the rim 12, and an opening 24 is defined bythe rim 12. The cup 10 also includes an image section 20 disposed on theouter surface of the rim 12, wherein the image 20 depicted includesalpha-numeric characters. It should be further understood that the image20 can comprise alpha characters, numerical characters, artwork, or anycombination thereof. The image 20 can also protrude from or recess intothe sidewall of the cup, or any combination thereof.

The image 20, as shown in FIG. 1, can be personalized by a user of thecup 10. The user can scratch and/or depress any portion of the image 20thereby individualizing and being able to distinguish the cup from thesame or similar type of disposable containers. For instance, FIG. 2 isan exploded side view of the image 20 as shown in FIG. 1. Referring toFIG. 2, a user can depress any portion of the image 20 (such as theletter X (26) as depicted in FIG. 2), a user can scratch-off any portionof the image 20 (such as the number 2 (28) depicted in FIG. 2 asmissing), or any combination thereof, to personalize the disposable cup10. A user can scratch and/or depress any portion of the disposable cup10 he or she desires to personalize the disposable cup 10. Thus, theuser can then reuse the disposable cup 10 because a user will be able todistinguish their cup by its distinguishing scratches and/or depressionsthereby fostering reuse and eliminating waste.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a disposable cup having an image, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Now Referring toFIG. 3, the disposable cup 10 depicted in FIG. 3 has the same componentsas the disposable cup 10 depicted in FIG. 1 except that the imageportion 22 is disposed on the body 14 of the disposable cup 10. Theimage 22 of the disposable cup 10 is depicted having alpha-numericalcharacters. It should be further understood that image 22 can alsoinclude alpha characters, numerical characters, artwork, or anycombination thereof. The image 22 can also protrude from or recess intothe sidewall of the cup, or any combination thereof.

The image 22, as shown in FIG. 3, can be personalized by a user of thecup 10. The user can scratch and/or depress any portion of the image 22to individualize the cup 10 and to distinguish it from the same orsimilar types of disposable containers.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the image depicted in FIG. 3, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.4, a user can depress any portion of the image 22 (such as the letter F(40) as depicted in FIG. 4), a user can scratch-off any portion of theimage 22 (such as the number 2 (42) depicted in FIG. 4 as missing), orany combination thereof, to personalize the disposable cup 10. A usercan scratch and/or depress any portion of the disposable cup 10 he orshe desires to personalize the disposable cup 10. Thus, the user canthen reuse the disposable cup 10 because of its distinguishing scratchesand/or depressions thereby fostering reuse and eliminating waste.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a disposable cup having an image, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present. Referring to FIG. 5, thedisposable cup 10 depicted in FIG. 5 has the same components andfeatures as the disposable cup 10 depicted in FIG. 1 except that theimage portion 22′ includes art work instead of alpha-numericalcharacters.

It should be further understood that the image portion of the cup can belocated on the outer surface of the body of the cup, the outer surfaceof the rim of the cup, or any combination thereof.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a mold formaking a cup having an image section capable of being individualized bya user of said cup, the mold comprises a shape of said cup including asidewall having an outer surface and an image, wherein said image isformed by modifying the mold to include said image, and wherein saidimage is disposed at a predetermined portion on the outer surface of thesidewall of said cup. It should be further understood that any of theexemplary embodiments and features thereof discussed above may beincorporated in a mold for making a disposable cup having an image.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a disposable container having an image,according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 6, a plate 60 is formed having a rim 62, a foodcarrying surface 66, and an angular wall 64 having an upper surfacedisposed between the rim 62 and the food carrying surface 66. Inaddition, the angular wall 64 is formed such that it aides in holdingfood on the food carrying surface 66. Further, the plate 60 includes animage section 68 disposed on the upper surface of the angular wall 64,wherein the image 68 depicted includes alpha-numeric characters. Itshould be further understood that the image 68 can comprise alphacharacters, numerical characters, artwork, or any combination thereof.The image 68 can also protrude from or recess into the angular wall 64of the plate 60, or any combination thereof.

Further, a user can depress or scratch-off any portion of the image 68,or any combination thereof, to personalize the disposable plate 60.Thus, the user can then reuse the disposable plate 60 because a userwill be able to distinguish their plate from other plates by itsdistinguishing scratches and/or depressions thereby fostering reuse andeliminating waste.

It is to be understood that the image section 68 may cover a portion ofthe angular wall 64 or the entire angular wall 64.

It is also to be understood that the image portion 68 may be disposedalong any portion of or the entire rim 62 depicted in FIG. 6. It is tobe further understood that the plate 60 depicted in FIG. 6 is not meantto limit the invention. Rather, the plate 60 represents an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention and that all types of disposabledinnerware, such as bowls, may include the exemplary embodimentsdiscussed above.

Further, it is to be understood that of the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention discussed above may be incorporated in any disposablecontainer, such as cups, plates, bowls, and etc.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

1. A disposable container comprising: a bottom portion; a sidewallportion extending up from the bottom portion defining a cavity capableof holding a substance and an upper portion of the sidewall defining anopening through which the substance can be placed within and withdrawnfrom the cavity, wherein the sidewall portion has an inner and an outersurface; and an image disposed on the outer surface of the sidewallportion, wherein the image can be scratched, depressed, or anycombination thereof, along any portion of the image by a user therebypersonalizing said container.
 2. The disposable container of claim 1,wherein the image includes an alpha character, a numerical character,artwork, or any combination thereof.
 3. The disposable container ofclaim 1, wherein the image protrudes from the outer surface of thesidewall portion of the container.
 4. The disposable container of claim1, wherein the image is recessed into the outer surface of the sidewallportion of the container.
 5. The disposable container of claim 1,wherein a first portion of the image protrudes from the outer surface ofthe sidewall of the container, and a second portion of the imagerecesses into the outer surface of the sidewall of the container.
 6. Amethod of making a cup having a portion of said cup capable of beingindividualized by a user of said cup, said method comprising the stepsof: forming said cup including a base, a sidewall having an outersurface extending up from the base to define a liquid holding cavity andan image, wherein said image is disposed at a predetermined area on theouter surface of the sidewall of said cup, and wherein the image isformed such that any portion of said image can be scratched, depressed,or any combination thereof by a user thereby personalizing the cup. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein said image includes an alpha character, anumerical character, artwork, or any combination thereof.
 8. The methodof claim 6, wherein said image protrudes from the outer surface of thesidewall.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein said image recesses into theouter surface of the sidewall.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein afirst portion of said image protrudes from the outer surface of thesidewall, and a second portion of said image recesses into the outersurface of the sidewall.
 11. The method of claim 6, further includesforming a rim on the upper surface of the sidewall of said cup, whereinthe rim defines an opening for filling and withdrawing a liquid from theliquid holding cavity, and wherein the outer surface of the sidewallincludes an outer surface of the rim.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein predetermined area is the outer surface of the sidewall aboutthe rim.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined area isany portion of the outer surface of the sidewall between the base andthe rim.
 14. A mold for making a Styrofoam cup which includes forming abase, a sidewall extending from the base to define a cavity for holdinga liquid, and a rim formed along the top portion of the sidewall thatdefines an opening for filling and withdrawing a liquid from the cavity,further comprising: an image portion disposed on a predetermined area onan outer surface of the cup, wherein the image portion is formed suchthat the image can be scratched, depressed, or any combination thereofby a user.
 15. The mold of claim 14, wherein the predetermined area ofthe cup is the outer surface of the rim.
 16. The mold of claim 14,wherein the predetermined area of the cup is a portion of an area on theouter surface of the cup between the base and the rim.
 17. The mold ofclaim 14, wherein the image includes an alpha character, a numericalcharacter, artwork, or any combination thereof.
 18. The mold of claim14, wherein the image is formed such that the image protrudes from theouter surface of the cup.
 19. The mold of claim 14, wherein the image isformed such that the image recesses into the outer surface of the cup.20. The mold of claim 14, wherein a first portion of the image protrudesfrom the outer surface of the cup, and a second portion of the imagerecesses into the outer surface of the cup.
 21. The mold of claim 14,wherein the predetermined area of the cup includes an outer surface ofthe rim or a combination of the outer surface of the body and the rim ofthe cup.